DEFINITELY DEBI: Recipe: Pasta Primavera (gluten free)

ROASTED CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE PASTA PRIMAVERA: GF

It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe! I'm sure you will agree though that this one is worth the wait!. I've been gluten free now for almost 1/2 a year and it has made a HUGE difference in my health. I plan on posting about that soon...but for now, just know that ALL of my recipes going forward will have the option of being gluten free. For example: you can use regular pasta or gluten free pasta in this recipe. Totally up to you! If you are living gluten free or considering going gluten free..you can find gluten free pasta in any grocery store these days.

This is a recipe that I developed using Giada DeLaurentis's Vegetable Primavera recipe. I've made with and without chicken...but Kevin and I agree the chicken really adds a lot of heartiness to this pasta dish. If you want to go meatless however...it's great that way too! What really MAKES this dish is the ROASTED VEGGIES. This dish is literally a party in your mouth with all of the spectacular flavors from the roasted veggies. This dish is easy to make and VERY healthy. This recipe proves to me that you don't need a pasta dish with a heavy, fattening sauce on it. The flavor in this dish is not to be missed... Be sure to use organic vegetables and free range, organic poultry if you can. Also note that I made a HUGE bowl of this that we ate off of for 3 days! This recipe will easily feed a large family of 8-10, or you can half it to feed 4-6. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips

2 medium zucchinis or 1 large zucchini, cut into strips

2 yellow squash cut into strips

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips

1 red bell pepper cut into think strips

8 oz sliced mushrooms (white or baby bellas work best)

15 cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in 1/2
3-5 cloves whole garlic

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (plus extra for the table)

1 rotisserie chicken

1/2 c. olive oil (4 Tablespoons)

1 T. Italian seasoning

1 pound penne pasta or bow tie pasta (I use GF pasta)

**1/4-1/2 cup reserved pasta water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and cut up all the veggies. Spread out on two baking sheets. Drizzle 2 T olive oil over each tray of veggies.

Sprinkle aprox 1 t. Italian seasoning over each tray of veggies. Using your hands or a spoon/spatula, toss the veggies to make sure they are covered in the oil and seasoning. (notice the cloves of garlic next to the onions...I roasted 2 but next time I'll probably do 5...roasted garlic has a really mild flavor and we could hardly even taste it with only 2!)

Adjust your oven racks to the 2nd and 4th position in your oven. Put one tray on each rack and roast veggies for 20 minutes.

In the meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until pasta is tender (according to your package directions) Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy, pasta water.

While pasta is cooking, saute the mushrooms in 1 T of butter or olive oil over medium heat.

While mushrooms are cooking, peel skin off the chicken and pull as much of the meat off the chicken as you can. Use all the white and dark meat, cutting into cubes. Discard the carcass.